Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 19, 1995 TAG: 9501190132
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BURNSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
The final two of five men trapped in a Bath County cave since Sunday climbed to safety about 6 p.m. Wednesday after rescue crews spent more than six hours lying on their backs, using their arms and legs to clear a tiny rescue tunnel.
"It was a superhuman rescue effort," said John Hemple, a sub-region coordinator for the National Cave Rescue Commission.
The five men, all expert cavers, became trapped in the Barberry Cave after heavy rains during the weekend triggered a mud and rock slide that clogged more than 100 feet of the passageway, leaving only about a 5-inch-high tunnel to the surface. The blocked passageway was about half a mile into the cave, 140 feet below the ground.
Rescuers said the trapped cavers had plenty of space to move around on their side of the blocked passage.
The two smallest cavers - Mike Ficco, 25, of Harrisburg, Pa.; and Ben Schwartz, 20, of Doe Hill - were able to slither their way to freedom around 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Rescue teams were brought in to start digging for the other three trapped cavers about midnight Tuesday.
By daybreak more than 100 rescue workers and expert cavers had been summoned to this tiny community near the border of Bath and Highland counties.
But in the end, observers said, the majority of the rescue digging was done by Schwartz and Ficco - who crawled back in the cave early Wednesday to help free their friends.
"It was basically a self-rescue," said Greg Clemmer, a caver from Montgomery County, Md. "Ben and Mike did all of the digging."
Rescuers at first estimated that it could take several days to burrow out a tunnel wide enough for the remaining cavers to squeeze through.
They had dug through only about 25 feet of the debris when a third caver - Tom Shifflett, 42 - was able to slide through the opening.
Rescue workers still thought it could take another day to reach the remaining two cavers - Nevin Davis, 52, of the Burnsville area; and Mike Antz, 34, of Harrisonburg.
The rescue effort was difficult because the diggers had to lie on their backs in two to three inches of water - noses practically touching the top of the cave. Debris had to be swatted out of the way using arms and legs; there was no room for tools.
"Imagine crawling 100 feet under your bed, feet first," Clemmer said.
Clemmer said he often goes caving with the five trapped men and was scheduled to go on this trip until he had to go out of town at the last minute.
"That could have been my butt in there," he said.
Despite the immense rescue effort, there never was much doubt that the final three cavers, who have 75 years of caving experience among them, would be rescued.
``They are in no danger,'' Hemple said Wednesday morning. "The only question is how long it takes to get them out, not whether we are going to get them out."
Still, there was a little anxiety as the rescuers raced against a weather forecast that called for thunderstorms in Bath County today.
"We are pulling out all the stops," said Jim Hooper, a state trooper who heads the Alleghany Highlands rescue team.
The rescue crews feared that more rain would clog the cave's opening even more.
The limestone cave in which the men were trapped was discovered just over a year ago and only expert cavers are allowed inside.
A steel tunnel, built to support the cave's opening, is padlocked shut most of the time. It's opened only at the request of caving clubs.
"It's to keep the idiots out," said Barry Baumgarder, a sub-region coordinator.
These five men went into the cave Friday night to explore and map its territory. They planned to camp two nights and return Sunday afternoon.
None of the cavers would talk about being stranded in the cave. When the last two finally emerged from underground, all five of the men went to Davis' nearby farmhouse.
Rescue workers said that because the men are expert cavers, they were embarrassed that such a massive rescue effort was undertaken.
"Yeah, they probably think they have a little egg on their face," said Ron Simmons. ``These weren't Sunday afternoon cavers; they were experts. ... Most experienced cavers know that if they get stuck somewhere then they are going to have to get themselves out.''
In the end, said Simmons - an expert cave diver brought in because he could slide in the hole headfirst with an air tank - that's exactly what happened.
"By the time we got there, they were already out."
by CNB